Vacuum cleaner assembly



May 24, 1960 C. E. MEYERHOEFER VACUUM CLEANER ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Feb. 1, 1955 F R-' 47 41 m I, I. 40 f5 f2 if .56

INVENTOR Z5 farifleyerlzaq er 7PM. ADWMJYW ATTORNEYS May 24, 19-60 c. E.MEYERHOEFER 2,937,395

VACUUM CLEANER ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 1, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet-2 INVENTORfar] A flew/flag 10 W W )rw ATTO R N EYS N May 24, 1960 Filed Feb. 1,1955 C. E. MEYERHOEFER VACUUM CLEANER ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORfar! 1?. fieyerfiae/er ATTORNEYS VACUUM CLEANER ASSEMBLY Carl E.Meyerhoefer, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Lewyt Corporation, Brooklyn,N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 1, 1955, Ser. No. 485,543

2 Claims. (Cl. 15323) This invention relates to a structurally andfunctionally improved vacuum cleaner assembly embodying structuresadditional to those shown in my prior United States Patent 2,716,465,dated August 30, 1955.

It is an object of the invention to furnish a mechanism which may beembodied in an assembly as shown in my prior patent without detractingfrom or interfering with the proper functioning of that assembly.

By means of the present teachings, a mechanism is furnished in which thecurrent-supplying cord will be maintained in a normally housed andinconspicuous condition; that cord being capable of immediate connectionwith an electrical outlet so that the apparatus may be energized. Duringthe use of the apparatus, the cord will automatically be extendedaccording to the distance that the apparatus is moved. At the same time,when the use has terminated, the operator, with minimum effort, will beable to disconnect the cord and cause it to be automatically retractedto housed condition.

Further objects of the invention are those of providing a reel inassociation with a vacuum cleaning apparatus, and which reel supportsthe electrical cord or cable in a manner such that there will be littledanger of that element becoming entangled with the assembly as thelatter is moved over the floor. structure of this invention, the centerof gravity of the assembly may be raised so that the latter willfunction in an improved manner; the apparatus maintaining its stability.

A still furtherobject is that of furnishing a reel assembly combinedwith a vacuum cleaner, and which assembly includes relatively few parts,each individually rugged in construction and capable of economicalmanufacture, these parts being capable of being grouped together byrelatively unskilled labor to furnish a unitary apparatus operating overlong periods of time with freedom from all difficulties.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is had to the attachedsheets of drawings illustrating one practical embodiment of theinvention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a vacuum cleaner and reel assembly withcertain of the parts broken away to disclose underlying structures;

Fig. 2 is a somewhat enlarged plan view with certain of the parts shownin section;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in thedirection of the arrows, as indicated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the apparatus as shown,

in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing, in detail, thearrangementof parts adjacent the hinge coupling;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken along the line 66in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken along the line 7-7in the direction of the arrows, as indicated in Fig. 4.

Additionally, by the.

ted S ttes Patent 1 Patented May 24, 1960 Referring primarily to Figs. 1and 4, and as shown 'in my previous patent above referred to, a tub-typevacuum cleaning apparatus is illustrated. This includes a casingembracing an upper section 10 and a lower portion 11. Secured to thelatter and extending to a point which is preferably slightlyabove andbeyond the center of the casing are wheels 12. Their peripheries extendbelow the lower face of casing section 11 and the side faces of section10 may be recessed, as indicated at 13, to overlap the upper edges ofthe wheels; Within the lower casing section 11, the major portion of amotorblower unit (not shown) is disposed. This serves to exhaust airthrough openings, such as 14, located adjacent the lower end of casingsection 10. Within the latter section a trough 15 is mounted. Theforward face of that trough is defined by a fitting 16 which may be inthe form of a deflector. The outer surfaces of the fitting may befrictionally engaged by a collar 17 form-' ing a part of an air-porouspaper filter bag 18. Conveniently, a collar 19 is associated with theadjacent face of easing section 10. That collar may have its axisinclined in a downward direction, as shown, and receive the rigid endportion 20- of a hose 21.

Access to the interior of casing 10 is afforded through a cover 22mounted upon the same and normally secured against movement by a catchactuated by a knob 23.

. The cover is hingedly connected to the casing, as shown in detail inFig. 5, by securing to the latter a hinge portion 24 through which apintle 25 mayextend to couple a corresponding part secured to cover 22.Within that cover, a filter assembly 26 is disposed; that assemblyhaving its edges in sealing engagement with a gasket 27 carried by thewall providing casing 10. I

With current supplied to the motor-blower unit, the latter will draw airthrough the collar 19 and fitting 16- into the interior of bag 18. Dueto this inrush of air, the bag will tend to distend into firm contactwith the inner faces of trough 15. To escape, air will have to passthrough the wall of the bag, which will thus act as a filter to retaindust and other foreign material entrained in the air. After so passingthrough the Wall, the air will flow upwardly through the filter assembly26 into the space defined by the cover 22 and will then reverse its flowand pass downwardly through the passages or spaces existing betweentrough 15 and the inner face of easing section 10. That air will thenpass to the blower unit and be discharged by the latter through openingssuch as 14. 7

To furnish a connection which will supply current to the motor operatingthe blower, the rear face of-casing 11 defines an opening through whicha plug 28 is accessible. That plug is preferably mounted in a dished-inportion 29 of the casing, which may also receive a cooperating couplingmember 30 electrically connected to the leads existing within cable 31.The cable preferably extends immediately adjacent the rear face ofcasing 10 and, as shown in Fig. 7, includes a conveniently flat body 32with raised edge portions 33, within which the leads 34 are embedded.Accordingly, the cable will not .extend materially beyond the face ofthe casing and will present a not-unpleasing appearance in appliedposition. The hinge plate 35 afiixed to casing 10 is formed'with agroove of a Width such that it will accommodate a cable of the characterillustrated. This groove is overlain by wing or retaining portions 36,forming a part of the plate 35. These portions will thus frictionallyengage the cable and maintain it in properly taut condition between thehinge and plug 28. The cover 22 is formed with a recess 37 and withsimilar wing or retaining portions 33, Which overlie the cable, asillustratedin Fig. 5. Therefore, when the cover 22 is in open position,a small, amount of-slack on the part of the cable'will exist be tweenparts 36 and 38. When the cover is in closed position, as especiallyshown in Fig. 1, there will be no slack on the part of the cable.

'Cover 22 is preferably dished or extended in a downward direction, asindicated at 39, to provide a somewhat flattened rearward deck portion40. Positioned upon the latter is a casing 41. This is secured againstdetachment by any suitable fastening elements which pass through lugs 42and are secured to cover 22. The side flange of casing 41 is formed withan opening 43. Inwardly of this opening, the casing may mount a stopprovided by a pair of spaced pins 44. These serve to engage the base endof a plug 45 when the latter is wholly retracted. Such retractionnormally occurs incident to the fact that plug 45 is coupled to theouter end of a cable 46. That cable is disposed upon a reel, as isespecially shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The reel conveniently includes a pair of discs 47 which have opposedbase portions connected to each other. One of these base portions housesa coil spring 48. The outer end of the latter is connected againstmovement with respect to the dished portion of the disc adjacent whichit is disposed. Its opposite end is coupled as at 49 to a hub 50. Thathub is secured against rotation with respect to casing 41 by, forexample, a bolt 51. Within the dished portion of the lower disc a blockof dielectric material 52 is mounted. That block is provided with achannel 53 which receives the inner end portion of cable 46. Thechannelis continued in the form of a pair of grooves within which are disposedterminal members taking the form of metallic casings 54. Secured one toeach of these are the leads within cable 46. The lower faces of thecasings are continued as contact rings 55 exposed within the baseportions of the grooves. These are engaged one by each of brushes orfingers 56. Those brushes are connected to the ends of the leads withincable 31 and are maintained against rotation by being secured to plate57, which is fixedly attached to hub 50.

Now, with a view to providing a structure which will prevent the reelfrom normally retracting the cable 46, a suitable detent or brake isfurnished. This brake, as especially shown in Figs. 2 and 6,conveniently embraces a bell crank lever 58 pivotally supported withinthe reel housing as at 59 and carrying an engaging element 60,preferably in the form of a roller. A spring 61 is connected with theouter arm portion of this bell crank and normally tends to swing thesame in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2. So swung, the headportions of roller 60 will engage with a suitable portion of the reeland preferably the flanges extending from the discs 47.

The brake-releasing structure conveniently includes an actuating button62 (see Fig. 6) thrusting against a stem 63 which is normally maintainedin an elevated position by a spring 64. The lower end of the stemterminates in a conical portion 65 bearing against the adjacent edge ofthe longer arm of the bell crank lever 58. A lock washer 66 mayconveniently be associated with the stem to prevent too great aretraction thereof. The button 62 is exposed upon the upper face ofcasing 41. When depressed by an operator, stem 63 will be projecteddownwardly and the conical or tapered portion 65 will function as a camto shift arm portion 58 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inFig. 2. So shifted, roller element 60 will be moved out of engagementwith the periphery of the reel to release the latter.

It is obvious that with plug 45 connected to a suitable socket, anoperator using the vacuum cleaner will shift the casing of the latteraway from that socket as a pull is exerted upon the hose 21. Plug 45being anchored to the socket, it follows that a pull will be exertedupon cable 46 as the assembly is moved away from such outlet. This willresult in the cable feeding through opening 43 and rotating the reelassembly. Such rotation is entirely permissible, because the rollerelement 60 will simply ride in contact with the periphery of the reel asthe latter turns in a clockwise direction. As the reel turns, spring 48will be increasingly tensioned. During such rotation, however, nointerruption to the supply of electrical current will occur, because thefingers or brushcs 56 will ride in engagement with the surfaces of ringsand these rings are connected to the inner end of the current-supplyingcable 46. From these contact fingers or brushes, current will flowthrough the cable 31 to plug 36, the receptacle 28 and thence throughthe motor of the unit. The control of that motor is, of course, effectedby means of a suitable switch mechanism and which is operated by, forexample, a foot pedal 67. Assuming that the reel structure is notmounted on the cover 22, then, of course, a current-supplying lead, suchas a cable, may be directly connected with the receptacle or coupling28. When the reel is to rewind cable 46, then the operator, by simplystriking or pressing against actuator 62, will release the brake. Soreleased, spring 48 will act to rotate the reel and rewind the cable.

By having the reel preferably mounted on the upper end of the assembly,it is obvious that the amount of cable which will be resting on thefloor will be minimized. In this connection, it will be understood thatunder ordinary manipulation of the parts that cable will not contact thefloor for quite some distance beyond the casing. With the adjacent cableportions maintained in an elevated condition, there will be littledanger of that cable becoming entangled in the wheels 12 and othersupporting media of the assembly. Additionally, with the weight of thereel disposed at an upper position, the center of gravity of theassembly is raised. With the reel dismounted that center of gravitywould be approximately in the area of the lower part of the upper casingsection 10 and spaced rearwardly of the wheel axis a distanceapproximately one-fourth the distance between the axis and the rear edgeof the casing section 11. With the reel mounted, this center of gravityis shifted slightly rearwardly beyond that point. Also, it is elevated.That elevation is not enough to render the apparatus unstable. In fact,as tractive force is exerted on hose 21, the shifting of the apparatusover the floor may be achieved with minimum effort. Any contact betweenthe floor and a skid or supporting portion 68, extending from the lowerface of easing section 11, is not aggravated to an extent such that amarring of the floor occurs.

The axis of the reel, being vertical, it is in a plane normal to thepull exerted upon hose 21 as the assembly is advanced by the operator.Therefore, only minimum effort will be necessary to have cable 46unwind; this occurring without any conscious effort on the part of theoperator as the assembly is traversed over the floor. The inner end ofthe hose being just below the plane of the reel, the cable, thoughexerting some degree of tension, will minimize any tendency of theapparatus to topple in a forward direction. At the same time, however,and as brought out in the prior patent, a violent pull on the hose, suchas would cause the apparatus to tend to overbalance in a forwarddirection, will be immediately counteracted by that hose having itsslack portion come into contact with the floor and thus act as a strutor support for the assembly.

Finally, it will be noted that a carrying and lifting handle may form apart of the present apparatus. This has been indicated at 68 aspreferably including a strap with ends bent to overlie and be pivotallyconnected to the side faces of casing 41. When this handle is in theposition shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 1, it will obviously serveits intended purpose. When shifted to the position shown in full lines,it will lie adjacent the forward casing face and merge inconspicuouslywith that face.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as specificallyaforenoted are achieved. Obviously,

numerous changes in construction and rearrangements of the parts mightbe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the claims.

I claim:

1. A vacuum cleaner assembly including in combination a casing formedwith front, rear, side and base faces, a pair of wheels mounted to lieadjacent said side faces and extending below said base face to movablysupport said casing at two points upon a surface, said wheels havingtheir axes positioned between the casing center and its front face,means for supporting said casing upon a surface at a third pointadjacent its rear face, said front face being formed with an inletopening for connection with a hose at a point above the axes of saidwheels, so that as traction is exerted upon the hose, the meansproviding the third point of easing support will tend to elevate abovethe supporting surface and the assembly will move in the direction ofthe hose, a cable for supplying current to mechanism within the interiorof said casing, a cover hingedly connected to said casing for closingthe upper end of the same, a cable-carrying reel mounted upon said coverwhereby as the latter is swung around its hinge to allow access to thecasing interior, said reel will be shifted to a non-obstructingposition, a second casing enclosing said reel, said second casing beingformed with an opening in the direction of the rear face of the firstcasing and said cable passing through such opening for connection withan electrical wall outlet.

2. A vacuum cleaner assembly including in combination a casing formedwith front, rear, side and base faces, a pair of wheels mounted to lieadjacent said side faces and extending below said base face to movablysupport said casing at two points upon a surface, said wheels havingtheir axes positioned between the casing center and its front face,means for supporting said casing upon a surface at a third pointadjacent its rear face, said front face being formed with an inletopening for connection with a hose at a point above the axes of saidwheels, so that as traction is exerted upon the hose, the meansproviding the third point of casing support will tend to elevate abovethe supporting surface and the as sembly will move in the direction ofthe hose, a cable supplying current to mechanism within the interior ofsaid casing, a cover hingedly connected to said casing at a pointadjacent the upper edge of its rear face, a cable-carrying reel mouptedupon said cover, said cable extending from said reel past said hinge andadjacent the rear casing face and means for retaining said cablesubstantially in contact with parts of the hinge connection in allpositions to which said cover is swung.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS978,167 Kelsey Dec. 13, 1910 1,142,353 Morrow June 8, 1915 1,399,165Spencer Dec. 6, 1921 1,507,010 Sutton Sept. 2, 1924 1,551,856 TamarinSept. 1, 1925 1,763,397 Hutchinson June 10, 1930 2,039,861 Watts May 5,1936 2,306,989 Cordingly Dec. 29, 1942 2,323,275 Lofgren June 29, 19432,348,966 Dow et al. May 16, 1944 2,372,007 Kroenlein Mar. 20, 19452,450,257 Simmons Sept. 28, 1948 2,594,456 Kroenlein Apr. 29, 19522,716,465 Meyerhoefer Aug. 30, 1955 2,725,588 Dennler Dec. 6, 19552,769,997 Sheahan Nov. 16, 1956 2,825,086 Tamarin Mar. 4, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 244,023 Switzerland Sept. 17, 1947 1,078,281 France May 5, 1954

